Here’s What Drove Bitcoin’s Price Down to $65.5K in Hours: Analysis

Bitcoin’s second quarter started on a turbulent note, with the options market once again serving as a harbinger of sharp movements, notably in the downside skew of risk reversals. Bitcoin briefly plummeted to $65,500 from the lofty height of $70k.

During the same period, Ethereum saw its value dip to lows of $3,320.

Q2 Begins with Dramatic Price Swings

According to the latest market update by QCP Capital, “the speed of the move” was driven by significant liquidations, particularly on platforms such as Binance, known for their high retail presence. This essentially caused perpetual funding rates to fall from a whopping 77% to equilibrium. This correction nudged spot prices back within the $60k-$72k range.

“The speed of the move was due to large liquidations on retail-heavy exchanges like Binance which saw perp funding rates go from as high as 77% to flat. The move brings spot prices right back into the middle of the 60-72k range. While perp funding has compressed, the rest of the forward curve remains very elevated.”

Increased volatility within 24 hours led to a surge in liquidation events on centralized exchanges, which coincided with Bitcoin’s retreat below the $66,000 mark. Data compiled by CoinGlass revealed liquidations of approximately $500 million occurred across multiple centralized crypto exchanges. Among these, nearly $390 million predominantly comprised long positions, while shorts accounted for the remaining.

155,000 traders were liquidated over the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the largest single liquidation order transpired on OKX – ETH-USD-SWAP, valued at $7.48 million.

Bitcoin, Ethereum Suffer Massive Liquidations

Bitcoin positions bore the heaviest losses, facing liquidations of more than $242 million within the same period. Approximately $90.68 million were attributed to long positions, while shorts accounted for $40.25 million. Ethereum also saw significant liquidations adding up to $81.52 million, with long positions totaling $65.03 million and shorts at $16.49 million.

Other top altcoins experienced a similar wipeout. Solana, for one, saw a little over $15 million in liquidations, the majority comprising of long positions – $13 million. On the other hand, shorts of $2.06 million were liquidated. Next up was Dogecoin, with $14.76 million in liquidations.